220 [March, 



brown, in the half-grown one black, and so remains without further change. Thoracic 

 plate is at first shining brown, with a pale dividing line, it then passes through 

 blackish-brown to its final condition in the full-grown larva, when it is yellowish, 

 mottled with black, and with a black border behind. In spins up in the same places 

 and after the same manner as argyrana, and does not pupate till the spring. 



A large proportion of those reared indoors remain and make up 

 in the oak apples, but they rarely do so in a wild state, for the gall 

 tissue in wet weather sucks up moisture like a sponge, and would not 

 afford the most comfortable of winter quarters: though, if the weather 

 has been dry, they often do not leave immediately, but wait till rain 

 comes and gives them notice to quit. In the autumn of 1887, when 

 collecting larvse of Carpocapsa Juliana (also an occasional inquiline of 

 these galls), I brought home, on one occasion, two larvse of gallicolana, 

 and, out of curiosity, transferred them to acorns ; they took most 

 kindly to the new food, and produced, this spring, the two largest 

 moths I have ever reared. But in the wild state, I have never found 

 them upon anything but the galls. 



Tarrington, Ledbury : 



December 2,\st, 1888. 



LINEN INJUKED BY AGROTIS JjKRYM. 

 BY C. G. BARRETT, F.E.8. 



The linen manufacturing industry in the north of Ireland has 

 again this winter been threatened with serious injury by the somewhat 

 abnormally mischievous proceedings of certain larvae, which have been 

 found to gnaw holes in the linen during the process of bleaching. 



Similar complaints were made in the same district a good many 

 years ago, and to the best of my memory the mischief was then attri- 

 buted to the larvae of Spilosoma fuHginosa (Ruby tiger), which were 

 found in suspicious proximity to the damaged material. The inference 

 was, that finding themselves excluded from sunlight, they had gnawed 

 their way through the linen to reach it. 



Late in the past autumn I heard from the Rev. "W. F. Johnson, 

 of Armagh, that the mischief had re-commenced, and I advised him 

 according to the previous supposition. He, however, placed me in 

 communication with a gentleman largely engaged in the linen manu- 

 facture, L. M. Ewart, Esq., of Belfast, who set himself in a scientific 

 manner to investigate the whole subject : tried experiments, forwarded 

 to me from time to time specimens of the larvae found upon the linen, 

 and was good enough to follow closely such suggestions as presented 

 themselves. 



